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Magenta Head missing half on test print?
- Thread starter SARBaltimore
- Start date
SARBaltimore
New Member
Normal enough. My concern right now is the magenta head.
check the magenta ink cartridges, sometimes they empty out, but don't trigger the ink empty sensor. The only other things that can control 1/2 a head are the dampers, or the ink line. Experience says probably a damper. Also thats a decent chunk missing from the light magenta, doesn't that cause banding?
Stormyj
Just another guy
Im not sure what everyone one is talking about. Your missing the entire right side of your print head. I would say there is an electrical issue. Half your print head is not firing, so either your board on your head is damaged, the cable is damaged, or something else electrical. Turn off your machine and disconnect power, then switch cables with another know working print head and see if the problem follows it. If it does, then cable problem, if not, then perhaps its time for a new head.
simple first
First pull the front cover off, then the chrome cover then the grey plastic cover on the print head carriage. Check the ink line and make sure there is ink going to the head. No, pull black cover off under carriage and use a syringe and disconnect the cap hose from the pump. See if you can draw ink through when parked. Yes then do a test print and remove the cover switch, when head stops quickly put cleaning solution on cap station. Push cover switch back on and let head park. Do a normal cleaning a couple of times and it should come back. If you can't pull ink through the tube go into maintenance mode and pull cap off (spring loaded) and see if tube is plugged with ink. I have had this printer going on 9 years and have never had issues with ribbons or circuit boards, always a capping station or tubes plugged or ink cartridge
if you are out of ink a couple of normal cleans with the solution will bring it back.
First pull the front cover off, then the chrome cover then the grey plastic cover on the print head carriage. Check the ink line and make sure there is ink going to the head. No, pull black cover off under carriage and use a syringe and disconnect the cap hose from the pump. See if you can draw ink through when parked. Yes then do a test print and remove the cover switch, when head stops quickly put cleaning solution on cap station. Push cover switch back on and let head park. Do a normal cleaning a couple of times and it should come back. If you can't pull ink through the tube go into maintenance mode and pull cap off (spring loaded) and see if tube is plugged with ink. I have had this printer going on 9 years and have never had issues with ribbons or circuit boards, always a capping station or tubes plugged or ink cartridge
if you are out of ink a couple of normal cleans with the solution will bring it back.
My XC-540 now has this problem (half of the magenta test print is missing), and I'm wondering what you guys' conclusion was...is this more likely to be an electrical problem? It happened all of a sudden, mid-print. I've done cleanings and suctioned the black ink tube with a syringe (I get ink that way, no problem). But I don't see ink going through the clear tube when I do a cleaning. Is this something I might be able to repair? My repair guy is on vacation this week :-(
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
1 channel missing on a DX4 head is usually ink flow but there are some rare instances where it could be electrical. See below for a workflow of how I diagnose these types of issues:
1. Check the cartridges to make sure they haven't drawn empty but failed to flag the machine as such. If the machine thinks there is still ink in the cartridge when there is not, it will pull back on the system and prevent a channel from firing.
2. Clean all maintenance parts, bottom of the head and flush waste tubes. If the maintenance parts aren't clean or the tubes are clogged, it will cause random drop out. Clean the area on the bottom of the head where the cap normally meets up and avoid the nozzle area. Ink build up and break the seal with the cap top.
3. Test the seal of the cap top by capping the head, hooking a syringe up to the cap tube directly where the pump usually connects, and then pull the syringe. You should feel resistance and then ink should flow shortly after. If you pull straight air, the cap top is most likely in need of changing. If you pull and get a ton resistance but no ink, either the head or the cap top is clogged. In your case the head probably isn't so it would most likely be the cap top. At the end of the day if the cap top is older than 1 year, replace it. Once you know for sure that the cap top is sealing and the pump tubes aren't clogged, it's time to look at the dampers.
4. If the dampers are over a year old, I change them no matter what. If they are newer, I would just change the one on the channel you are having issues with along with the o-ring. They are cheap enough that it is worth swapping it out just to rule that out. Hook a syringe to the bottom of the new damper where it normally connects to the head and pull. You should feel resistance and the clear plastic on the side should crush down. Ink may not flow immediately into the damper depending on how far back it receded and it could take many pulls to get ink to it depending on the syringe size and how far back the ink is. Once you see ink flow into the damper and fill the very bottom of it, disconnect the syringe. What should happen is the ink stays in the ink line and the damper will start to naturally fill it self to about half full but usually a little lower at first. Now you can run a cleaning cycle and the magenta should show back up. If not, something else is going on.
5. Take the damper from the left side of the magenta and swap it with the right. If the right side continues to fire and the left doesn't. You probably either have a broken manifold or an electrical issue. If the left side stops and the right side fires, the head should be fine but there is some sort of other ink flow issue happening which means you will have to start looking deeper for air leaks etc.
Also: Just make sure there are no major kinks in the ink line which could be introducing air to the system.
1. Check the cartridges to make sure they haven't drawn empty but failed to flag the machine as such. If the machine thinks there is still ink in the cartridge when there is not, it will pull back on the system and prevent a channel from firing.
2. Clean all maintenance parts, bottom of the head and flush waste tubes. If the maintenance parts aren't clean or the tubes are clogged, it will cause random drop out. Clean the area on the bottom of the head where the cap normally meets up and avoid the nozzle area. Ink build up and break the seal with the cap top.
3. Test the seal of the cap top by capping the head, hooking a syringe up to the cap tube directly where the pump usually connects, and then pull the syringe. You should feel resistance and then ink should flow shortly after. If you pull straight air, the cap top is most likely in need of changing. If you pull and get a ton resistance but no ink, either the head or the cap top is clogged. In your case the head probably isn't so it would most likely be the cap top. At the end of the day if the cap top is older than 1 year, replace it. Once you know for sure that the cap top is sealing and the pump tubes aren't clogged, it's time to look at the dampers.
4. If the dampers are over a year old, I change them no matter what. If they are newer, I would just change the one on the channel you are having issues with along with the o-ring. They are cheap enough that it is worth swapping it out just to rule that out. Hook a syringe to the bottom of the new damper where it normally connects to the head and pull. You should feel resistance and the clear plastic on the side should crush down. Ink may not flow immediately into the damper depending on how far back it receded and it could take many pulls to get ink to it depending on the syringe size and how far back the ink is. Once you see ink flow into the damper and fill the very bottom of it, disconnect the syringe. What should happen is the ink stays in the ink line and the damper will start to naturally fill it self to about half full but usually a little lower at first. Now you can run a cleaning cycle and the magenta should show back up. If not, something else is going on.
5. Take the damper from the left side of the magenta and swap it with the right. If the right side continues to fire and the left doesn't. You probably either have a broken manifold or an electrical issue. If the left side stops and the right side fires, the head should be fine but there is some sort of other ink flow issue happening which means you will have to start looking deeper for air leaks etc.
Also: Just make sure there are no major kinks in the ink line which could be introducing air to the system.
VanderJ, I've replaced a damper, but I think the syringe I have is too big. I'm not able to attach it well enough to get much suction, so I haven't been able to pull much ink into the damper. Is the machine going to be ok if I just put everything back together and leave it until I can go find a smaller syringe? Or do I need to be concerned about the head drying out?
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
You should be fine for a little while. You can still let the machine run auto cleanings etc. Nothing should be damaged by doing so.
Changing the damper corresponding to the missing left side made no difference. Then I tried switching the new left-side damper and the old right-side damper, with the result that NONE of the magenta would print. That seems like a strange result...unless my new damper is defective?? Does that make any sense at all?
I really appreciate the advice! Won't be able to get an expert in here until Monday.
I really appreciate the advice! Won't be able to get an expert in here until Monday.
